GARDENS BY THE BAY

day one hundred and fifty-eight: march 4, 2016

After hearing about Gardens by the Bay, we decided that it was the one attraction that we had to see in Singapore. Separate from the main gardens, there are two enclosed domes that you can buy tickets to enter. The first is the Flower Dome, which is the largest glass greenhouse in the world and houses plants from around the world. And most importantly, it's air conditioned!

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The second dome is the Cloud Forest Dome, which is more focused on plant life from the tropical highlands.

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Our final stop in Gardens by the Bay was the Supertree Grove, which measure between 25 and 50 meters in height and are designed to provide shade during the day and come alive with lights and sound at night. Over 162,000 plants comprising over 200 species are planted on the Supertrees.

Ooof, I know that was a lot of flowers to go through -- but they were all just so beautiful!

HOI AN FOR TET

day one hundred and thirty-one: february 7, 2016: arrival in hoi an

We arrived late in the evening due to a delayed flight causing us to miss the beginning celebrations for Tết, which included some singing and dancing. Nonetheless, we still had plenty of time before the big fireworks show at midnight. Our hotel was situated close to the old ancient part of the city so we took to the streets immediately after checking in to our room. We were in search of food. We ended up stopping for some street food by the river. Not our greatest meal, but it did the trick. The streets of the old part of the city are closed to cars, but motor bikes are still ever present. Anywhere a motor bike can fit, someone will inevitably be riding one there. The old city still had a very old feel to it, with its cobblestone streets and almost all of the buildings being older and no hotels in the area. It was great.

As we got to the river, we noticed many vendors including these three young girls below selling floating lanterns to put afloat in the river. Jonathan snapped some photos of them and they tried to sell us some lanterns. We said no thanks and told them maybe later.

The entire river front area was decorated with lanterns. Every building, across the bridges and walkways and even larger lanterns in the water.

The famous Japanese Covered Bridge was also lit up with changing colors, which made for nice reflections in the water. 

After making our way around the river area, we returned, as promised, and bought a lantern from one of the young girls. Unlike our float experience in Chiang Mai for Loy Krathong, i.e. Kristina, Carina and I had to basically lay face down on a bamboo dock and drop it into the water, then our floats got stuck in debris and didn't really make it down....this was waay better. The young girl had almost like a large ladle that I put the float in and then slowly lowered it into the water. So much better! She then stayed with me until my float cleared the nearby boats and made its way down the river. :)  

As midnight approached, we found a nice spot on the bridge and setup the camera to take some photos. The fireworks were incredible, maybe even better than Disneyland. (Sorry, Disneyland lovers...I know there are a few of you out there, Sharon, Megan, and Miche!) 

On our way home there were people along the street outside their homes and shops burning fake money as offerings for the new year.

day one hundred and thirty-two: february 8, 2016:

With a full day ahead of us to explore the ancient city we slept in a little bit knowing we didn't have much area to cover and that some shops might be closed due to the Tết holiday. We chose to walk down some narrow alleys by people's homes rather than the main streets.

As soon as we came out onto one of the main streets, these beautiful smiling faces greeted us and smiled as we snapped a quick photo. And yes, we pretty much fell victim to the coconut trick again and Jonathan felt bad and bought some bananas from one of the ladies in exchange for some photos. 

As we walked around town we visited some of the family gathering halls where locals were lighting incense in celebration of the new year.

We stopped at a coffee shop and enjoyed our seats overlooking the busy street below. 

After our coffee and hot chocolate, we headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap before heading back out in the evening.

I managed to find some raving reviews of the restaurant Morning Glory so we decided to check it out. When we arrived, the group before us was turned away because they said they were fully booked for the night. However, when we asked for a table for two, we were seated at the table right in the front within 5 minutes. Lucky, I guess? The food was awesome and probably the best meal we've had thus far in Vietnam!

After dinner we took our time and strolled around the river area and the surrounding streets.

Near the sculpture garden on one side of the river they had some games, one of which participants would put on a mask and approach a small clay pot and swing a stick to try to break the pot. We must have watched people try 20 times before this young boy won.

On our way home we cruised thru some narrow dark alleys, which were much creepier at night.

Tomorrow morning we wake up early to head to Hanoi, where we'll spend less than 24 hours before heading further north to Sapa and beyond for 8 days.

CAMBODIAN LIVING ARTS PERFORMANCE

day one hundred and twenty-eight: february 4, 2016: an experience in culture

After a somber day at the genocide museum and the killing fields, we decided to go see a cultural dance performance at the National Museum. The show was put on by Cambodian Living Arts, a non-profit created to facilitate the transformation of Cambodia through the arts. With the devastation caused by the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s, many of the Master Artists were killed. Arn Chorn-Pong, the founder of Cambodian Living Arts, a musician and a survivor of that period, set out to find as many Master Artists as he could to help bring the arts back to life. We enjoyed a great show and would encourage anyone visiting Phnom Penh to take some time and catch their performance. Not only was it well done, but we could tell that the performers really enjoyed what they do. And we still can't figure out how they can make their hands bend backwards like that.

BEOUNG MEALEA, BANTEAY SREI, AND PRAE ROUP

day one hundred and twenty-six: february 2, 2016: lesser known temples

Today we decided to head out with Vannak again, but this time in an air conditioned car since we were headed a little bit further away. First stop, Beoung Mealea. Built in the early 12th century and much closer to the rock quarry where the sand stone for most of the temples in the area were cut from, the stones of Beoung Mealea are much larger in size. At the entrance way is the most complete Naga carving in the area, although it is only a five headed Naga (remember, always in odd numbers). 

The government has chosen to leave this temple the way it was found, so little to no restoration has occurred. This made it our favorite temple to visit. You are also allowed to climb around the ruins freely which made it a lot more fun and you could really see how the power of nature had taken over such an ancient structure. We were also able to avoid the standard path that all the other tourists were following.

Roots had grown into the cracks between stones slowly moving stones apart and in some cases even cracking stones.

Below was our favorite area filled with intersecting roots from the parasite trees that were growing on top of the temple. At the top right you can see there is a viewing platform up above if you followed the standard path, but Vannak took us a separate way and we were down in the ruins instead of above. We had a lot of fun climbing over large stones and thru small windows and openings and even climbing up some of the roots.

There was one space that seemed a little bit sketchy. Below you can see a root growing thru what was once a roof and still holding a few stones. Going underneath this giant root you couldn't help but move quickly, hoping that the stones weren't going to suddenly give way.

Our next stop was Banteay Srei. If you were impressed by the carvings at Angkor Wat, the ones here were simply mind blowing. The depth and detail were just insane so excuse the large number of photos. Banteay Srei is a much older temple than Angkor Wat and when it was discovered it had been almost completely fallen due to overgrowth of trees. Since this temple is much smaller in stature, most of the stones were not damaged badly and have since been restored. The stone is also a different type of sandstone giving it a pinkish hue.

In the entryways of the temple complex writings are etched into the doorways. 

You can see from the closeups below how detailed and how three dimensional the carvings are.

As we exited Banteay Srei out the back exit, there was a group of land mine victims playing music. We slowed down the pace and sat and listened to them play for a few songs. Again, one of the men was playing a leaf as a musical instrument. Pretty cool.

Our last stop was Prae Roup. Not a ton of photos as the temple wasn't nearly as impressive as Banteay Srei, but still made for a good visit.

day one hundred and twenty-seven: february 3, 2016

We could have used our three day pass and visited more lesser known temples today, but instead we decided to sleep in and do some research for our future travels. After a late morning we headed to the airport for our flight to Phnom Penh.

ANGKOR WAT, BAYON TEMPLE AND TA PROHM

day one hundred and twenty-four: january 31, 2016: manila > siem reap

We decided to sleep in this morning and meet my cousins for lunch at the nearby mall (we just can't get away from malls!). After a casual lunch, we said our goodbyes to my dad and his girl friend then my cousins dropped us off at the airport.

Next stop, Siem Reap. We booked a nice little AirBNB and our host was at the airport to greet us and bring us to his house. Phalla worked in the tourism industry in Siem Reap for the past 15 years, so he hooked us up with a fellow tour guide and tuk tuk driver for the next few days.

day one hundred and twenty-five: february 1, 2016: angkor wat

We woke up bright and early to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Phalla supplied us with some eggs, bacon and bread, so Jonathan cooked breakfast before our tuk tuk and guide, Vannak, met us at 5 AM. Off we went toward Angkor Wat.

After purchasing our three day passes, we headed toward the temple. There were already lots of people on the road headed in the same direction. Upon our arrival Vannak set us up further away from the temple for a good view letting us know that it would be too dark for photos. After showing him what our camera could do in low light, he quickly moved us to the pool directly in front of Angkor Wat along with everyone else. After watching the sunrise we thought that maybe it would have been a lot more peaceful where he first stopped where no one else was around.

There must have been over one thousand people (not exaggerating)  all there to see the sunrise and all trying to capture that perfect photo. Unfortunately, the weather was a little bit cloudy so we didn't quite see the sun come up over the temple, but on the flipside, it made it a lot cooler temperature-wise as we toured the temple afterwards.

Interestingly enough, most of the crowd thinned out before the sun actually came up so we got to enjoy the view with less people than before.

After the sun came up, we strolled along the north side of the complex to the west gate where we had the area mostly to ourselves.

Here, Vannak began to tell us about the significance of different parts of the huge temple. First, he showed us the large Naga carvings surrounding the complex. According to Cambodian legend, the Naga were a reptilian race that fathered the Cambodian people. Apparently, the seven headed Naga, always an odd number, symbolizes energy, infinity, timelessness and immortality. 

As we began to tour the temple itself, Vannak told us about the temple was actually constructed. Built in the 12th century completely made of sandstone, this temple is truly amazing. The planning involved to build such a structure is hard to imagine. When one looks at the details of the joins between stones and the angles and straightness of the lines and alignment of stones it's truly mind blowing. Even the design of the moat and pool were all necessary for the stability of the temple. The moat actually keeps just enough water and moisture in the soil to keep the foundation stable without allowing it to become too dry and crack and crumble and also not too wet for it to collapse. The pool in front of the temple was actually used to determine if the structure was standing perfectly straight by using the reflections in the pool as a determining factor. 

Below, Vannak is showing Jonathan one of the joins up close.

The joins are almost seamless without any space between the stones. Below you can see interlocking joins which were used to prevent stones from moving.

As we peered down the long galleries with a wall on one side and columns on the other, you could see that all the columns were perfectly aligned. Incredible. The Khmer builders also used male and female joins on different pieces like the columns to prevent movement of the stone pieces.

Walking thru some of the enclosed areas, looking up you could see the design of the stones to create a sort of arched ceiling. Also very impressive.

Fairly quickly we began to see detailed carvings on the walls and columns. Vannak told us these were done after the building of the temple. The wall carvings each told stories while those on the columns and trims were more for decoration. We could consistently see lotus included in much of the decor.

Many of the columns were carved with depictions of hermits, one on each side of the column to serve as supports. At the bottoms of many of the columns there was clear deterioration of the stone. We asked what had caused this and Vannak responded that when UNESCO declared Angkor Wat a Heritage Site, Indians came to help clean some of the moss and lichen that had grown on the temple. To do this, they used acid to remove it, but this acid also ate away the stone causing the wearing that you see all around the temple. Such a bummer!

Throughout the complex, there are pillars in both open and closed windows. All the pillars look as if they were made by machine, but that's definitely not the case.

In the center of the complex is the central part of the temple with steep stairs leading upward. 37 steps in total, matching the number of years it took to build the temple. They are steep and difficult to climb because the journey to heaven is not meant to be easy.

We waiting in a decent line to take our turn to climb up to the top of the temple. Once up there we took our time walking around exploring the top and taking in the view.

As we continued to tour Angkor Wat, Vannak showed us some carvings that were much closer to being finished. He told us you could tell by the depth of the carvings. In fact, the ones that we had seen earlier were not even close to finished. Below, you can see how much deeper and detailed the carvings are compared to those previously.

As we departed Angkor Wat, we waved goodbye to the Naga and headed to our next stop, Bayon Temple. Bayon was named for the Banyan trees that were covering it when it was re-discovered. Bayon Temple is well known for the large faces on the towers of the temple. One face in each direction, north, south, east and west.

As we walked up to Bayon Temple, a couple was getting a tour on an elephant and their guide was playing music using only a leaf. What tune was he playing? Jingle Bells...

On the first walls that you see as you enter Bayon Temple, there are depictions of the Khmer at war with the Cham people. Underneath the main carving, you can see a much smaller strip that depicts the daily lives of the Khmer people at the time. Everything from hunting, to pig and cock fighting, to sumo wrestling, to trading fish with the Chinese.

Jonathan magically managed to get most of his photos without a single person in them. A miracle based on how many people were actually there.

After our first Khmer meal of amok fish and chicken curry we headed to Ta Prohm, more commonly known now as the Tomb Raider Temple for its role in the movie.

Due to its popularity, many of the areas are roped off and platforms have been added to enable people to take photos in the key spots. Unfortunately, you also end up with platforms and ropes in your photos as well.

With the heat of Siem Reap, we decided to head back to our AirBNB since we had been up since the early morning. We relaxed the rest of the afternoon before heading out to Pub Street for some dinner at Khmer Kitchen. We ended up sharing a table with two med students from Rhode Island and had some great conversation. They were both doing a rotation in the local Children's Hospital. Always fun to meet new people in a new city!